How many borneo orangutans are left

Utami Atmoko, M. Leighton, N. Rosen, K. Traylor-Holzer, R. Lacy and O. Byers eds. By purchasing certified sustainable palm oil and FSC-certified forest products, consumers, retailers, traders, and manufacturers help protect orang-utan habitat by limiting illegal logging and forest conversion to oil palm plantations.

Spread the word! Click on the button to share this information with others via email or your favourite social networking service. Download wallpaper PC iPhone. Our work is only possible with your support. Donate now. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CITES is an international agreement between governments, that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33, species of animals and plants.

Archive Content Please note: This page has been archived and its content may no longer be up-to-date. Toggle navigation. Language English. Orang-utans are the world's largest tree-climbing mammals. But their forest habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia is rapidly disappearing, putting the future of Asia's only great ape in peril.

Why orang-utans matter Orang-utans are known as gardeners of the forest. Physical description Orang-utans have a characteristic ape-like shape, shaggy reddish fur and grasping hands and feet.

Their powerful arms are stronger and longer than their legs and can reach 2m in length, long enough to touch their ankles when they stand. There are two different types of adult male orang-utan: flanged and unflanged. Flanged males have prominent cheek pads called flanges and a throat sac used to make loud verbalizations called 'long calls'. They also have a long coat of dark hair on their back. The unflanged male looks like an adult female.

Both reproduce and an unflanged male can change to a flanged male for reasons that are not yet fully understood. Orang-utans are the only primate in which this biological phenomenon occurs. Male orang-utans can tip the scales at 90 kg, while females weigh between kg. Social structure Orang-utan means 'person of the forest' in the Malay language. They live in primary and secondary forests. Although they can occur up to 1,m above sea level, most are found in lowland areas and prefer forests in river valleys or floodplains.

Orang-utans travel by moving from one tree to another, and usually avoid climbing down to the ground. But when they do, they move on 'all fours', placing their clenched fists on the ground. Orang-utans make a nest of vegetation to sleep in at night, and rest in smaller nets during the day. Adults are generally solitary, although temporary aggregations are occasionally formed. Males' large home ranges overlap with the ranges of several adult females.

Adult males are generally hostile to one another, although they do not display territorially. Life cycle Orang-utans can live up to 50 years in the wild. Females first reproduce between years of age. They give birth at most once every 5 years, and the interval between babies can be as long as 10 years. The nests have long been used to infer the sizes of orangutan populations because the animals themselves are so elusive. Writing in the journal Current Biology , the team describe how the decline in nests from to points to the staggering loss of , orangutans in Borneo.

The conservationists identified 64 separate groups of orangutans on the island, but only 38 are thought to comprise more than individuals, the minimum that is considered viable for a group. While that is a lower rate, it amounts to more animals because most of the apes live in these areas.

Hunters in Borneo tend to enter the forest to find pigs and deer, but if they encounter a large orangutan, they can take the animals for food. Female orangutans are occasionally killed for their young, which are sold on as pets. Last week, authorities on Borneo found the body of a male orangutan bearing machete scars and wounds from airgun pellets. One approach that might work, he said, is to have Indonesian and Malaysian role models raise awareness of orangutans through social media.

If we can stop the hunting and killing, we can reverse the trend. Updated 16 April Just 20 years ago, it would have been difficult to pinpoint how many orangutans were left in the wild. Fast forward to today and their status is clear: Bornean orangutans are now classed as critically endangered orangutans.

How on earth could this have happened? Hunting Orangutans are hunted as a source of food, in defence of agriculture and sometimes even for sport. All of these factors have contributed to the dwindling orangutan population.

Patrol and protect With this in mind, the greatest mission for conservationists has been to protect the remaining jungles in Borneo.

In Borneo, volunteer groups also patrol the forest for poachers and loggers. Worldwide Not For Profits making a real difference Orangutans are incredible and unique creatures, whose popularity has encouraged the media to shed much needed light on the situation throughout the world. What will it take to save the orangutans?

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